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THEODORE ROOSEVELT 



THEODORE ROOSEVELT 



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DELIVERED BEFORE 

THE CENTURY ASSOCIATION 

FEBRUARY 9, 1919 



gcsoltttiotts 

ADOPTED FEBRUARY 9, 1919 



NEW YORK 

PRINTED FOR THE CENTURY ASSOCIATION 

1919 






C3i 



THEODORE ROOSEVELT 
Born October 27, 1858 Died January 6, 1919 

Elected a Member of 

The Century Association 
1884 



CONTENTS 

ADDRESS 

PAGB 

Elihu Root 9 

ADDRESS 

Rev. Wm. T. Manning, D.D. . . 19 

ADDRESS 

Major Geo. Haven Putnam . . 25 

LETTER 

Senator Henry Cabot Lodge . . 54 

LETTER 

John Burroughs . . . • 55 

ADDRESS 

Carl E. Akeley . . . .61 

ADDRESS 

Talcott Williams . . . . 6^ 



ADDRESS OF 

ELIHU ROOT 

Theodore Roosevelt can never be forgotten 
by the men of his time, and his memory can never 
be neglected by the historians who come in the 
future to estimate the forces effective in what 
now appears to be a period of vital change in the 
life of civilization. 

In common with millions of men and women 
who have come directly under the influence of his 
personality, we have met upon this selected day 
to join in tribute to this very great man who 
has been so potent for so many years in the public 
life of our Country; and to do our part towards 
sending to generations to come in the printed 
records of the day our fragment of testimony to 
the effect produced by the living man upon the 
generation that knew him. 

Here, in this Association, we respond of neces- 
sity to very personal and intimate factors of 
judgment and of feeling. 

Wherever in this world Theodore Roosevelt 
went, his tremendous personal power diffused an 
atmosphere, within which all the men and women 
there grouped about his central figure, and that 

9 



10 H^^re06 of 

spot of earth seemed not foreign, but home for 
him. Yet, after all, this was his home. In this 
City he was born and bred. From this home he 
launched his first and ever-recurrent flights of 
adventure and achievement into the great world 
of universal human life that was forever calling 
to his eager and dauntless soul. In this Club — 
dedicated to Arts and Letters — he was a member 
for thirty-four years, from the days of his youth, 
and it was his father's Club from the time of the 
Civil War. He was in harmony with the spirit 
of the Club. He loved and cultivated literature. 
A perpetual reader, with swift and alert grasp of 
the matter and the thought expressed in the print, 
sensitively responsive to poetry, and possessed 
of great joy by poems of sublimity and power. 
His first strivings for expression found vent in 
the ambition of authorship, and we know that he 
was no mean author. It is hard to estimate the 
value to the literary standards of the American 
people in having things that he has spoken and 
written go into the school books of the Country, 
where they stand as examples of simple, sincere, 
direct, strong expressions of definite ideas, free 
from all attempts at rhetoric and adornment. He 
scorned style for style's sake, but with strong 
desire to implant his thought in the minds of 
others, and with intuitive understanding of human 
nature he often sought and found terse phrases that 
crystallized general truths, and pierced through 
the barrier of indifference, and touched the springs 
of feeling and of action in the multitude — master 
words that will be potent long after all the fine 
writing of his generation has been forgotten. 



^Ubu IRoot II 

He loved and practiced the simplicity of life, 
in which literature and art live at their best. 
He scorned the meretricious and the decadent. 
He loved nature, its beauty, and its grandeur, 
from the great spaces of plains and mountains 
to the bird singing in the thicket, and he loved 
it with affectionate companionship, striving for 
definite knowledge and understanding. 

He had a genius for friendship, and unfailing 
sympathy with his fellows, real interest in their 
lives and fortunes, tender consideration of their 
shortcomings, pride in their successes. He com- 
bined the highest degree of loyalty to his own 
convictions and confidence in his own powers 
with an entire absence of self-conceit. He had 
no petty pride of opinion. He gave freely of his 
own thought to others, and he eagerly sought and 
availed himself of all the wisdom of others' experi- 
ence and knowledge. He was the most advisable 
man I ever knew, and the most independent and 
fearless in acting upon his own final conclusions. 
He was great-hearted, giving bounteously credit 
and praise to others. He had the saving grace 
of abundant and ever-present humor. He had 
purity of character, which kept his mind and 
heart open to all good influences. He had mani- 
fest sincerity of purpose that disarmed suspicion. 
He was incapable of deception, and thoughtless 
of it. He had the gift of social inspiration and he 
had charm. 

. Many of us here have known him since his 
early youth, and have loved him for his noble 
and appealing qualities. And we have cared for 
him all the more because we have been near enough 



12 a^^re06 of 

to see the trifling defects of his great virtues — the 
little foibles without which greatness remains 
coldly unapproachable and unloved. There is an 
intuitive sense of what a man really is, — almost 
infallible in the community in which he lives from 
boyhood. All of us have absorbed that judgment 
upon the character of Theodore Roosevelt. We 
are quahfied to say, and do say to the world that 
knew him in public, in high station, and in his 
great efforts and achievements, — "All that he 
seemed to you he was, — only a thousand times 
more admirable, more lovable, and more to be 
mourned." 

Consider the qualities which were his beyond 
dispute : 

Dauntless courage; fortitude; indomitable re- 
solution. 

Decision of character; an ingrained habit of 
mind, swiftly grasping all available data, and 
converging to immediate action. He was not 
at all an administrator, but he was an almost 
perfect executive. 

A fixed philosophy of life which set a high stand- 
ard of service to the point of sacrifice, and of 
scorn to spare one's self. 

Public spirit; love of Country; intense loyalty 
to ideals. 

Sincerity ; hatred of shams ; love of justice ; honor. 

Family affection ; capacity for friendship; purity 
of character; cheerfulness; hopefulness; humor; 
magnanimity. 

Breadth of vision; intuitive sympathy with 
the feelings and interests of all men ; an inevitable 
impulse to help the under-dog. 



JBllM IRoot 13 

Essential constructiveness ; never seeking to 
tear down except as part of a definite practical 
scheme of betterment. 

He was not infallible. The swift decisions of 
a true executive make some mistakes inevitable; 
but we can affirm with confidence in the agreement 
of all who knew him best that he never decided 
upon a course of conduct or a public action which 
he did not believe to be for the best interests of 
his Country, and in which that consideration did 
not stand first in his mind. 

Behind these qualities came the driving force 
of high ambition for achievement, of combative- 
ness that rejoiced in conflict, and an amazing 
virile energy. 

An unexpected and unsought election to the 
New York Legislature when he was but twenty- 
three years of age, just out of College, with all 
the initiative of youth unabated, turned him 
from the study and the writing of history to the 
practical business of government, and the study 
of men, upon which the successful conduct of 
that business depends. 

He was a natural reformer, saved from fanati- 
cism and folly by humor and the sense of propor- 
tion which humor gives, by absence of self-conceit, 
by hospitality to advice, by fondness for the study 
of history, by intuitive judgment of the practicable 
and by scorn for futile theory. His reading of his- 
tory became a biological study of human nature, 
its development, and its reactions under past 
experiments. A recognized evil in government 
made instant demand upon him for a new experi- 
ment directed towards the abolition of the evil, 



14 a&bre00 of ' 

and the substitution of something better. He 
wasted no time in weak protest or aimless discus- 
sion. He attacked instantly without the slight- 
est apprehension of consequences to himself. 
On the 30th of April, 1884, writing to a friend 
who had approved his course in the New York 
Legislature, he said: 

"Dear Mr. North, 

"I wish to write you a few words just to 
thank you for your kindness toward me, and 
to assure you that my head will not be turned 
by what I well know was a mainly accidental 
success. ... I have very little expecta- 
tion of being able to keep on in politics; my 
success so far has only been won by absolute 
indifference as to my future career; for I 
doubt if anyone can realize the bitter and 
venomous hatred with which I am regarded 
by the very politicians who, at Utica, sup- 
ported me, under dictation from masters who 
were influenced by political considerations 
that were -national, and not local in their 
scope. 

"I realize very thoroughly the absolutely 
ephemeral nature of the hold I have upon 
the people, and the very real and positive 
hostility I have excited among the politicians. 
I will not stay in public life unless I can do 
so on my own terms; and my ideal — whether 
lived up to or not — is rather a high one." 

For the thirty-five years of strenuous life that 
followed he never varied from that attitude. It 
was always he and not the politicians or even the 
constituencies that set the conditions upon which 
he held public office, and the conditions were 
always formed upon the standard established by 



leiibu IRoot 15 

the ardent boy in his first adventure. No har- 
dening of the heart ever brought to him indifference 
to the dreams of youth. 

He continually attacked abuse. It used to 
seem as if every morning at daybreak the slumbers 
of the comfortable were disturbed by his vibrant 
voice summoning to instant action against wrong. 
His voice reached the minds and hearts of the 
people of the United States as no other voice ever 
had in their history. So just was his judgment 
of fundamentals, so manifest the sincerity of his 
purpose, so tremendous the power of his personal- 
ity, that everywhere dim and vague feelings that 
something was wrong and uneasy dissatisfaction 
over unwilling acquiescence in what was wrong 
hailed him as a leader, and rallied to his support; 
so he established a short circuit between himself 
and the voters which cut out formal leadership, 
and created the greatest direct following upon 
the morals of government as distinguished from 
the folio wings determined by organization that 
has ever been known in the history of democratic 
self-government . 

It is too early to estimate the value of his work. 
We were all too much affected individually in 
one way or another by what he did, to leave it 
possible that we could have the detachment 
necessary to impartial judgment. The events 
which are now occurring in the world, however, 
cast a light backward upon what he did, and 
emphasize — if they do not measure — its value. 

He came into the public life of this great self- 
governing democracy as a phase of development 
in civilization was drawing towards a close. The 



i6 Hbbress of 

application of science and of organization to pro- 
duction had resulted in a vast and almost incon- 
ceivable increase in the wealth of the world, and 
in the power to multiply wealth. It was plain 
that this increase of wealth ought to make life 
more comfortable, more rich, more desirable for 
the inventors and discoverers whose brain work 
made it possible, for the investors who risked 
their capital in the successful and the unsuccessful 
experiments, for the laborers who were producing 
so much more than ever before, and for the con- 
sumers whose supplies were costing less labor 
than ever before. The economic struggles of the 
last half century had been steps in the process 
of adjustment towards this ideal distribution of 
the new wealth. But the process had lagged. 
The investor having the first opportunity had 
naturally and inevitably received the lion's share 
of the new wealth, and he had clung to it, 'and 
maintained it long after the risks of development 
had largely decreased. There had come to be a 
general feeling among the people that the investor 
was getting more than his fair share, and the 
other elements in producing the new wealth were 
getting less than their fair share. Our simple 
form of government established long before these 
conditions arose was not adjusted to the solution 
of this problem, and so the investor kept his 
initial advantage. A crust was forming over our 
National life. A class could be dimly recognized 
as rising with power and privilege and assumption 
of superiority on the basis of wealth. Under- 
neath was vague but slowly growing dissatisfac- 
tion and resentment at that condition. 



JEUbu IRoot 17 

Biological study of human nature and instinct 
taught Mr. Roosevelt that this crust must be 
dissipated, and a fair equilibrium must be estab- 
lished by the peaceful processes of government, 
or the crust would be broken by explosion, as it 
was once broken in France, as it has since been 
broken in Russia. He addressed himself to that 
task — not as a matter of charity to the poor, not 
seeking popularity, but as a matter of govern- 
mental policy based upon political justice. He 
insisted upon the application of the underlying 
principles of our government, and the orderly 
process of its machinery, to set right what was 
plainly wrong. He appealed not to the baser but 
to the higher impulses that move men. He 
awakened a sense of responsibility and a renewed 
belief in the adequacy of our political institutions 
among the people who had begun to feel that our 
system of government was a failure. Each step 
in the unfinished process of readjustment under 
his leadership was a cheerful augury for the future, 
and an argument for confidence in representative 
government. 

I think it safe to say that when the test of Ameri- 
can Democracy came with the Great War, the 
fact that the American people had preserved such 
memory of their ideals, such confidence that their 
liberty was united with justice, such affection for 
their Country, and respect for its institutions, as 
to be able to meet the test with the overwhelming 
power of unanimous action is due more to the 
influence of Theodore Roosevelt than to all the 
other public men of his day. When the great 
test came, and the people of the greatest of all 



i8 abbre00 of leUbu IRoot 

democracies had to determine whether they would 
turn from their peaceful lives, from their comfort, 
their ease, their prosperity, their wealth, and 
gird themselves again to fight for their liberty, 
ready for sacrifice and suffering and death that 
American liberty and justice might live, and that 
America might do her part for the liberty of the 
world, Theodore Roosevelt was out of office, out 
of political control, out of favor with official power. 
He was denied his dearest wish to fight upon the 
battle front with the four strong sons whom he 
had trained in all the traditions of heroism. He 
had no source of influence save his life, his char- 
acter, his intense convictions; but it was then 
that he rose to the greatest height of his wonder- 
ful career. Day by day and month by month he 
appealed with passion and power to the people 
who had loved him; and that clear insistent call 
to courage, and honor, and duty, and the noble 
ways of a nation's life, rousing to action the 
driving power of the American people, did more 
I think to bring America in arms to the battle 
line before it was too late and to defeat the auto- 
cracy of Germany, than any public officer — civil 
or military — for whom the flags are dipped as the 
victorious regiments pass in review. 



ADDRESS OF 

REVEREND WILLIAM T. MANNING 

Mr. Chairman and Fellow Members of 
The Century Club: — We are here to pay our 
tribute to the memory of one who held a great 
place in the life of our country. To the American 
people the news of Theodore Roosevelt's death 
brought a shock of surprise as well as a sense of 
irreparable loss. He was so vigorous and active, 
so symbolic of life and energy and strength, that 
it seems impossible to associate the thought of 
death with him. By men of every sort his loss 
is felt as a personal one. For a quarter of a cen- 
tury he had stood in the forefront of things. He 
seemed to us like an integral part of our life, a 
symbol of our national genius and spirit. And it 
was so that people everywhere thought of him. 
All over the world the name, which the thought 
of America at once suggested, was that of Theo- 
dore Roosevelt. A woman missionary, captured 
by brigands in the Balkans, before the War, told 
me that the mention of Theodore Roosevelt's name 
commanded instant respect, and secured tolerable 
treatment for her. 

We think of his great services as President of 
19 



20 ab^re00 of 

the United States. His administration was one of 
the most important in our history. At a critical 
moment he restored confidence in the power of 
our government to control big business, and 
roused in the business world itself a new spirit, 
a desire for the correction of evils and for the 
maintenance of sound standards and methods. 
We think of his whole career in public life as 
Assemblyman, as Civil Service Commissioner, 
as Police Commissioner, as Assistant Secre- 
tary of the Navy, as Governor, as Vice-President, 
and as President. We think of his astonishingly 
diversified gifts, and of his varied pursuits as 
writer, hunter, cowboy, historian, soldier. We 
think of his constant utterances on all great top- 
ics of national interest, and of the phrases that 
he coined to meet his occasions, many of them 
so forceful and vivid that they have become 
incorporated into our conunon speech. His name 
will long be associated with such expressions as 
"the square deal," "the big stick," "the strenuous 
life," "the Ananias Club," "Weasel words," 
"the pussy footer," and "the fifty-fifty loyalty 
of a divided allegiance." But important as were 
the things that he did and the things that he 
said, it was not primarily these which gave Theo- 
dore Roosevelt his great place in the world. There 
was something still more important that lay back 
of them. It was what he was which gave him his 
influence over men. He was a most striking 
instance of the power of personality. How was it 
that although he had not what is commonly called 
the "gift of oratory" his words moved and in- 
fluenced the world? Why was it that in spite of 



IReverent) MilUam Z* flDannlng 21 

mistakes and faults, such as are common to all of us, 
men felt towards him as towards no other of our 
time ? What was it that gave the public such un- 
flagging interest in whatever he thought or said or 
did? It was not extraordinary intellect, nor gifts of 
genius, which gave him his power, though he had 
good intellect and unusual gifts, as we all know. 
It was the moral force of Roosevelt the man. It 
was by force of character that he took his own 
body in hand, training and developing it into a 
serviceable instrument for the work that he was 
to do. It was by other moral power that he took 
his place of world leadership. It has become a com- 
monplace to speak of him as a typical American, 
but it is a commonplace only because it is true. It 
is true not in the sense that he was an ordinary 
type, but in the sense that he represented in most 
uncommon degree those things which are best and 
highest and most characteristic in our life. No other 
American since Abraham Lincoln has so embodied 
the spirit and the ideals of our country. After 
John Morley had made his last visit to the United 
States he wrote: "I have seen Niagara, and I 
have seen President Roosevelt." To that calm 
and observant visitor he seemed like one of the 
natural forces of our land. And so our own people 
felt about him. His boundless energy and vigor, 
his force both physical and moral, his endless ca- 
pacity and resource, seemed to incarnate the very 
soul of America. 

Speaking of him this afternoon at another 
gathering I used the following words which I 
believe those of you who knew him best will assent 
to as literal truth. 



22 abbress of 

"We cannot hear his name without think- 
ing of his courage, his sincerity of purpose, - 
his strong conviction, his deep love for the 
right, and his unflinching advocacy of it. 
He made mistakes like other men, but he 
always upheld the right as he saw it, and it 
was this which gave the people their great 
confidence in him. 

"There are many people in this world who 
want the good to prevail, but who are un- 
willing to do anything which will cause 
friction, or which will bring them into conflict 
with evil. Theodore Roosevelt was not of 
this class. He knew that the good cannot 
be made to prevail by that method. He 
was ready always to withstand what he be- 
lieved to be evil, and to uphold what he 
believed to be good. He did not stop to 
think whether the cause was popular. No 
thought of the consequences to himself or 
to his personal interests seemed to occur to 
him. If the thing was right it was to be 
advocated; and he had absolute confidence 
that if it were fully presented to them the 
people would see that it was right. He struck 
hard blows, but he harbored no petty spites 
nor mean resentments. He aroused strong 
opposition and fierce criticism as every leader 
must at times, but in amazing degree h*^ won 
the admiration, the respect, the affection, 
even, of those who most strongly opposed 
him. It was said sometimes that he was 
inconsistent. And this was true. But his 
inconsistency was that of every man who 
thinks and grows and lives. Theodore Roose- 
velt did not stand still. He grew and devel- 
oped in fellowship with the world and with 
his time, and it was this that made him always 
a leader. But he advanced in accordance 
with sound and definite principles. 



IReverenb WliHiam Z. flDanntno 23 

"The outstanding note of his life was his 
straightforward sincerity. He was possessed 
by an astonishing spirit of candor. For him 
nothing else but open diplomacy and full 
publicity were possible. There was never any- 
thing uncertain or obscure about the words 
that he used. When he spoke, men were in 
no doubt as to what he meant to say. No 
phrase of his needed to be interpreted to 
make its meaning clear. He never expected 
others to follow him without knowing where 
he was leading. Men might disagree with 
him but they knew always where he stood, 
and on which side he was. He took his 
fellow citizens absolutely into his confidence 
and it was for this, among other things that 
they so trusted and loved him." 



His whole life was one of devotion to his coun- 
try, but his great opportunity for service came 
at the end, in the last foiu: years of his life, and 
we know well how he used that opportunity. 

It was Theodore Roosevelt who roused the soul 
of our country and called us to take our true part 
in the World War. To him far more than to 
any other we owe it that we saw our duty before 
it was too late. 

Through the long period when we stood neutral 
while justice and human freedom were at stake; 
when the murder of our women and children on 
the sea still failed to move us; when those in 
highest places were telling us that the issues of 
this struggle did not concern us; when we sat 
and watched the world conflagration without 
effort even to prepare; when the spirit of our 
country appeared to have been deadened, and 



24 a^^re00 of IRev, Mm, Z. flDannlng 

our chief desire seemed to be that we might be 
kept out of war, it was Theodore Roosevelt who 
sounded the call and forced us to see the facts. 
In the face of fierce criticism and denunciation, 
he proclaimed what we all now know to be true, 
that from the beginning the issues of this struggle 
were our deepest and most sacred concern, that 
from the beginning the other nations were fighting 
our battle as well as their own; that it was our 
duty to take our place beside France and Great 
Britain and our other Allies not only for the sake 
of our ideals, but for the defense of our own land 
and our own homes. 

The German papers have described Theodore 
Roosevelt as the arch-enemy of Germany. In this 
they did him justice. To his everlasting honor 
he was the enemy of all that Germany stood for 
in this war. And he was equally the enemy of 
that other, and still more abominable, tyranny 
which threatens the world under the name of 
Bolshevism, which has brought ruin to a large 
part of Europe, and which has its active propagan- 
dists here in our own land. 

His loss is a national calamity. To our human 
sight it seems that he is needed now more than 
ever. But his work was finished. History will 
give him his true and great place. May the 
name of Theodore Roosevelt ever be cherished 
among us, may his spirit live in the souls of our 
people, and may his example stir many of us to 
finer and more fearless service. 



ADDRESS OF 

MAJOR GEO. HAVEN PUTNAM 

The death of Theodore Roosevelt has brought 
sorrow and the feehng of personal loss to millions 
who had never seen the man, and had never 
even read his writings. Roosevelt's vital per- 
sonality had impressed itself upon his fellows 
to an extent for which there is no parallel in the 
relations with the community of any other Ameri- 
can — I may say of any other leader — of his gen- 
eration. The youngsters, with no understanding 
of the part played in great affairs by this man of 
energy, have thought of "Teddy" Roosevelt as 
one of themselves. The boys realized instinctively 
— what associates of our friend knew through 
their personal experience — that, notwithstanding 
his threescore years of strenuous activities, Roose- 
velt had never lost his youth. In enjoyment 
of Hfe, exuberance of feeling, absorption in the 
things of the moment, and confident optimism, 
Theodore remained until the last a boy — a boy 
sometimes perhaps perverse and troublesome — 
but possessing a charming magnetism which won 
the love of all who knew him. 

The nickname of "Teddy," probably coined 
25 



26 abbre00 of 

by the youngsters, was, we may recall, associated 
with the toy, the "Teddy Bear," that the child, 
whether boy or girl, hugged through the day 
and took to bed for comfort and companionship 
at night. Was there ever a greater compliment 
paid to the personality of a great political leader 
than in this association of his name with the pet 
cherished by the children? 

The writer of the Hebrew Book of Proverbs 
says: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." 
It is particularly in time of war or other national 
peril that we come to realize that a nation that 
has absorbed itself merely in matters affecting 
its material prosperity and that has not continued 
to give thought to the duties resting upon the 
state as a member of the Family of Nations, to 
aid in the repression of injustice and in the main- 
tenance of right throughout the world, is losing 
not only character, but force. It is losing the 
qualities through which alone national existence 
can be preserved. 

It is with a nation, as with an individual, that 
unless there be high ideals, unless there be a 
recognition of the existence of a national spirit 
or soul, the moral force by which alone existence, 
individual or national, can be maintained, or is 
worth maintaining, disappears. This vision the 
Lord sends to a people through his messengers. 
It is through the inspiration of the leaders, the 
great men of their time, the men who stand up in 
some fashion above their fellows, that the genera- 
tion secures purpose and direction and moves 
forward instead of remaining in quiescence, with 
the risk of decay. No country is ever left for 



flDajor Geo. Ibaven putnam 27 

successive generations without the leadership of 
men who stand for ideals and through whose 
inspiration and guiding power the people learn 
what is their duty and how that duty shall be 
carried on. The men who are thus accepted are, 
so to speak, supermen, but we repudiate the sense 
in which the German author Nietzsche utilized 
the term. The supermen who count as inspira- 
tion must possess not merely intellectual ability 
but moral force, and it is because they are able 
to inspire the whole community with moral force 
that the leadership, the intellectual ability is 
made to count towards progress. The heroes 
represent, therefore, the soul of their generation. 
They stand for original insight, manhood, noble- 
ness. The citizens who, while not themselves 
heroes, can come to a real understanding of what 
is meant by the hero's character or leadership, 
are those who make such leadership effective. 
They secure, through the honor and sympathetic 
appreciation given to their hero, a glimpse into 
the very marrow of the world's history. They 
come to learn that heroes are profitable company, 
a living light and fountain. It is really a divine 
relation that unites a great man to other men. 

We recognize as a poet the man who can reach 
up into the empyrean with a vision of things not 
apparent to ordinary men, and who can make 
such expression of his vision as shall bring it 
within the apprehension of his fellows. In this 
sense, the poet is the connecting link between 
the powers above and the men about him. The 
term poetas is, of course, simply "maker." Every 
great man is in a sense a maker, an awakener, 



28 a^^re00 of 

and, therefore, a poet, one who moves his fellow 
men. 

We Americans believe in aristocracy, but we 
want to interpret the term strictly. The only 
"divine right" that we are prepared to recognize 
is that which gives evidence of its divinity through 
high-minded integrity of purpose and capable 
leadership. It is to this group of leaders of men, 
leaders carrying inspiration from on high, leaders 
who are able to impress upon their fellows the 
integrity of their purpose and the wisdom of their 
guidance, that our friend Theodore Roosevelt be- 
longs. I use the term in the present tense, because 
while Roosevelt has passed, his influence remains 
and must remain for years to come. This in 
fact is one of the evidences of true leadership. 
The influence of the work and of the character 
of Washington has persisted through the century 
and a half since his death. We cannot look for- 
ward to the time when we shall cease to recognize 
the influence of Lincoln as a guiding force and 
inspiration for Americans. 

We know from the legends of classic times of 
the mischievous work of that troublesome god, 
Pan. The stories tell us that the touch of the 
invisible Pan on the shoulder of one combatant 
would send the current of panic from shoulder 
to shoulder through the ranks. 

We may realize also from history that in the 
same fashion the insidious suggestion for wrong 
motive and for bad action, the wave of a corrupt- 
ing influence, is also transmitted, not from shoulder 
to shoulder, but from head to head. A capable 
leader who lacks integrity of purpose has too 



riDajor (5co. Ibavcn jputnam 29 

often been able to demoralize masses of people 
who, under the right kind of leadership, would 
have kept their actions straight. Fortunately, 
the converse of the action and the influence of 
the great Pan is also true. If the touch of Pan 
can demoralize, that of Apollo or of Hercules can 
give inspiration and strength, and the inspira- 
tion and the strength are transmitted from shoul- 
der to shoulder, from heart to heart, so that the 
whole body of our voters or our citizens can be 
guided to courageous and rightful action. Our 
own Civil War (and, of course, many other wars) 
gives record of the inspiring effect that can be 
brought to bear by a single man of the hero type 
upon men who have suffered demoralization. 
Our army at Cedar Creek, surprised in the early 
hours of the morning and driven back through 
a series of miles, was reinspired, reencouraged, 
and brought to victory by a reenforcement of 
but one man, but that man was Philip Sheridan. 
He had the effect upon those dispirited Yankees 
of a fresh army of ten thousand. 

Our friend Roosevelt possessed to an eminent 
degree the purpose, the vitality, the will power 
which inspires other men with similar purpose, 
vitality, and will power. We speak of the best 
men as the "salt of the earth" and that met- 
aphor would apply to a man hke Roosevelt who, 
himself imbued with good citizenship of the. high- 
est standard, was able to put into the community 
wholesomeness of purpose; righteous action that, 
in heading off corruption and wrong-doing, works 
for wholesomeness, may well be compared to salt. 

It is not necessary to claim for Theodore Roose- 



30 a^^re90 of 

velt a quality of greatness on a par with that of 
Washington or of Lincoln. He neither created 
the nation nor did the privilege come to him of 
saving the nation. There is no advantage in 
measuring too closely the relative contribution 
made by heroes to the world's history. We 
simply recognize that this or that man belongs to 
the heroic group. 

Theodore was quite modest in regard to his 
own intellectual originality or creative capacity. 
He described himself once to me as "an ordinary 
man working to the nth power." His force and 
effectiveness lay in the integrity of his purpose 
and in his strength of will. There can be no 
question as to Roosevelt's sturdy manliness, but 
this must always be associated, in the minds of 
those who knew him, with his undying boyishness. 

It was the vitality and the optimism of the 
man that made life and the world so interesting 
to himself, and that enabled him to make work 
done in cooperation with him so interesting for 
the co-worker. He was the embodiment of ideals 
associated with energy. Not every idealist pos- 
sesses a force destructive for the things which 
are evil and constructive for those which are 
good. Having perceived what kind of things 
make life run on in joy, Roosevelt chose those 
things. He had a genius for the whole of life 
and also for the wholesomeness of life. He lived 
abundantly, exuberantly. He preached the impor- 
tance of personal character, and of making the 
most of the days and of the hours. He empha- 
sized for the nation a duty similar to that resting 
upon each citizen. "America," he said, "must be 



fIDaJor 6co. Ibaven putnam 31 

ready to strike in time of need, and every Ameri- 
can must be willing, if necessary, to sacrifice 
himself in the stroke. The American must not 
permit himself to become stagnant, otherwise the 
life of the nation would perish. The common 
man must raise himself to self-sacrifice." 

Roosevelt was an explorer by nature, and his 
explorations were, as we all reaHze, not restricted 
to things geographical. He was in continual 
quest of the unknown and of the little known in 
literature, in art, and in science. He had the 
realization that much was required of life and that 
the years were short, and he had a horror of wast- 
ing hours, hours which might be devoted to de- 
velopment, or to service of some kind or another. 
We know that he was an insatiate reader, but his 
reading was not to be described as omnivorous. 
With his feeling about the value of time, he was 
very careful in the selection of the material to 
which he would give eyesight (itself in later years 
sadly limited) and hours. He read on the train, 
while waiting for sleep, and when waiting for 
breakfast. He told me once that it was his prac- 
tice to have a book on the table by the front door 
which he could read while he was waiting for Mrs. 
Roosevelt; and he said further that "she is really 
a prompt woman, but those minutes I have found 
useful," and the reading thus done was, as said, 
always in the direction of one of his many Unes 
of research. 

Much of his historical writing carries a moral 
purpose. It was his insistence that the conscien- 
tious writer of history must possess a clear un- 
derstanding of the essential difference between 



32 ab^reee of 

right and wrong and must make his narrative 
carry that understanding to the reader. This 
use of history for "preaching" has, from the 
literary point of view, disadvantages, but it was 
characteristic of our historian. Our friend thought 
of himself as a preacher, and he was always 
looking for a pulpit. He said to me once during 
his presidential term: "Haven, the White House is 
a bully pulpit." 

It seems to me, however, that the essential 
service rendered by Roosevelt to his fellow citi- 
zens, and particularly to the younger men, was 
not so much in what he said as in the realization 
that came to hearers, or to readers, that here was 
a real man who believed in the responsibilities 
of life, who felt assured that effort was always 
worth while, and that effort for right must in the 
end prevail; who had indomitable courage which 
refused to be daunted by any obstacles or any 
discouragements, and who was doing what he could 
himself to live the life of effort and of service that 
he was recommending to others. 

Roosevelt worked no miracles, but to a man of 
his temperament, the world itself was a perpetual 
miracle. It is the inner life that in the right- 
minded soldier, or worker for his fellow men, bums 
up all lower considerations and that makes clear 
the infinite nature of duty. 

Roosevelt had a contempt for sloth, which he 
associated with cowardice. He preferred an open 
antagonist, or even a consistent defender of the 
things that he believed to be wrong, to the 
Laodicean who was "neither hot nor cold," 
who gave little thought to the issues of the day, 



riDajor C3eo. Ibaven iputnam 33 

and was absorbed simply in his personal welfare. 
We all came into touch with the Laodiceans in 
the early years of this war, the lazy-minded men 
who refused to take the trouble to look into the 
nature of the issues that were being fought out, 
and who excused themselves with the lazy con- 
clusion, "well, there is probably a good deal of 
wrong on both sides." 

The correct measure of a man is the degree of 
vision that dwells in him. The man who has 
light in himself is in a position to say "let there 
be light." He is the breaker of idols. He is the 
man of effective force. 

The man who has arrived at convictions and 
has the courage to maintain his convictions and 
the ability to impress these upon others, is he who 
becomes a leader of men. His way of thought 
becomes their way of thought. 

Earnest and courageous as Roosevelt was, he 
realized that courage needs a compass. It can 
be of no service to the community or the world 
if the influence of the courage works in the wrong 
direction. Valor and value are akin, but only 
when valor is used in a righteous cause. 

Roosevelt was a curious combination of the 
heroic age and the twentieth century. He was 
modern in his purpose, but in temperament and 
in certain of his methods he reminded one of a 
personage of the days of the Sagas. I recall, by 
the way, that the Sagas constituted his favorite 
literature. He preferred these even to the Greek 
Classics, of which he was also fond. 

My first knowledge of Theodore came fifty-one 
years back when he was a slight, bright-eyed boy 



34 a^^re00 of 

of ten. He then gave full evidence of energy, 
but his physique was slight and frail. I remember 
being impressed at once with the fact that the 
boy wanted to know. He was putting his tentacles 
out into the universe. 

It was a charming home circle. His father, 
Theodore the first, may fairly be described as one 
of the best citizens of his generation. He be- 
longed to the group of men who were always 
rendering service to the community. 

The father was one of the early Centurians and 
for many years the president of the Children's 
Aid Society. 

Roosevelt's physical frailty continued through 
college life and before his course in Harvard was 
completed, he was sent off, under the judgment of 
the doctors, to secure health and vigor on the 
plains. He became a ranchman in Montana and 
learned to ride, — and he rode excellently well, — 
and to shoot, and, in spite of limitations of near- 
sightedness, his shooting was effective. In over- 
coming his physical difficulties, or in refusing to 
accept these as limitations, Roosevelt's will power 
developed early. One of his cowboys told me 
that (of course on the ground of nearsightedness) 
Roosevelt permitted "Old Ephraim" (the cowboy 
name for grizzly) "to come a good deal nearer to 
him than the rest of them liked." This same cow- 
boy, whom Roosevelt brought east with him as a 
personal friend, spoke of one time when it looked 
as if instead of Roosevelt getting the grizzly, 
the grizzly would get Roosevelt. The bear was 
charging and for once Theodore's gun missed fire. 
He had time to jump and, fortunately, found an 



flDajor (3co. Ibaven putnam 35 

overhanging branch by means of which he Hfted 
himself clear of the back of the charging bear. A 
shot from one of the cowboys crippled the bear 
and it was then finished by Roosevelt's second 
rifle. 

I may refer to one incident of his Montana 
experiences. The ranch owners were much 
troubled with the depredation of horse thieves 
and cattle thieves. On this occasion, a boat had 
been appropriated. Roosevelt took the ground 
that it was ignominious to rest quiet under such 
conditions. He took two friends and they rode 
out after the thieves who had had a good start. 
They were able, through two days of riding, to 
trace these thieves in some fashion (I am not a 
prairie man and do not know exactly how it is 
done), and then one of his friends broke his arm 
and the other had to take him back. Theodore 
refused, however, to abandon the pursuit and 
went on alone for another day. He came upon 
the fresh traces of the thieves before the day had 
closed and then, waiting until dark, crept in upon 
the group while with no apprehension of pursmt 
they were busy getting supper. He got them 
fairly covered, and then with "Hands up!" they 
had to surrender. 

He took possession of the three rifles, tied their 
hands, got them into a village, commandeered a 
wagon, and drove the men across the county for 
two days and one night, finally delivering them to 
the sheriff in the county town. We may call that 
an example of good citizenship. 

He was described by all who were associated 
with him as an excellent campaigner. He took 



36 a^^re06 of 

his full share of the labor and refused to accept 
an iota more than his share of rations, comfort, 
fire, blankets, or anything that meant advantage. 

He showed from the first a genius for comrade- 
ship and for warm-hearted sympathy with all 
with whom he had to do. Not a few youngsters 
have become twice the men they would otherwise 
have been because they had Roosevelt to admire 
and have been impressed through Roosevelt's 
indomitable moral courage to look upon each 
defeat as but a deferred victory. 

Roosevelt's political life began in 1882 with his 
election to the Assembly in Albany. The years 
1881-82 were busy ones for our young citizen. In 
1 88 1, came his marriage, and in 1882, about the 
time of his going to the Assembly, he entered my 
publishing office and published his first book. The 
book was The Naval War of 1812. It was accepted 
at once as authoritative and has remained to 
this day the authority on its subject matter. It 
had none of the characteristics of a first book. 
It was written as the result of most careful re- 
search and the young historian was able to convict 
the English historian James of a long series of 
erroneous statements and wrong conclusions. 

I was expected to make a business man of 
Theodore. He was in the office in the character 
of what the law calls a "silent" partner, but can 
we think of Roosevelt being silent in any associa- 
tion? He lived at the time near my place of 
business. He put his desk in the office and car- 
ried on from there his already active correspond- 
ence. He showed me from day to day how to 
run a publishing business, and brought many 



riDajor (5eo, Ibaven putnam 37 

suggestions for schemes and undertakings. These 
suggestions had to be sat down upon, as would 
be the case with plans from any youngster begin- 
ning work in a publishing office, unless the pub- 
lishing business is to be ruined. I became very 
fond of my young associate, but I found it difficult, 
with his exuberance of utterance, to get on with 
my correspondence and with the work of the day. 

I heard that the Republican Committee in his 
District were looking about for a candidate lor 
the Assembly. I had personal acquaintance with 
one member of the Committee and I suggested 
that Roosevelt might be the right man for their 
purpose. He had capacity, ambition, and the 
few hundred dollars needed for the expenses. 
The nomination was tendered to him on a Satur- 
day, and on Monday he came into the office waiv- 
ing the letter with the words: "Haven, I am going 
into politics and I am going to begin to do things," 
and then he went to Albany. There was no reason 
to discourage his hopefulness, but I thought I 
could realize the absurdity of an inexperienced 
youngster of twenty-three, filling a first term in 
the Assembly, being able "to do things." My 
knowledge of Albany at that time was not very 
close, but I had been told that a man during his 
first term did not get listened to at all. He usually 
could not catch the eye of the speaker. 

Still less, without any party behind him, was 
a first termer able to get a bill through, or to head 
off any measure that the party managers had 
determined to put through. It had not heretofore 
been done, but Roosevelt did it. He got together 
what might be called a party of four or five. 



38 abbrese of 

Another good Century man, Walter Howe, was 
in the group and those four or five youngsters 
actually succeeded by threat of publicity (a threat 
that was carried out more than once) in heading 
off some of the worst measures, and in the eighties, 
as later, there were always plenty of bills on the 
calendar adverse to the interests of the City of 
New York. The youngsters further succeeded, 
now and then, in getting some measure of their 
own through, and in persuading the up-country- 
men to vote against the interests of the Republi- 
can managers in the City of New York. These 
managers were at the time, and often since, inter- 
ested in carrying out the schemes of Tammany. 

Theodore made an increasing prestige for him- 
self during his three terms in the Assembly. His 
reputation was assured and the leaders began to 
look at him in two ways. They were afraid of 
this enfant terrible, but they recognized his force 
and some of them were saying to themselves, 
' ' Can't we use this fellow ? ' ' From some combina- 
tion of these two sets of motives, they made 
Theodore leader of the New York delegation to 
the Chicago Republican Convention of 1884, 
at which Mr. Blaine was nominated. Think of 
this youngster fighting at the age of twenty-four 
into leadership in a machine like that of New 
York State! He went out, in an association with 
good men like George William Curtis and Carl 
Schurz (both of the Century) to oppose the nomi- 
nation of Blaine. The Century men do from time 
to time come into leadership. This time they 
did not succeed, but th'^' fight that they made, 
the publicity that they gave to things that were 



riDajor (Bco. Ibavcn putnam 39 

undesirable in the career of an American who 
was nearly a great man, who might have become 
really great if he had had full integrity of purpose 
and action — that fight, made in the Convention, 
was the real factor that made it possible to secure 
Blaine's defeat in the campaign. Here was a ser- 
vice rendered to the country. For many of us 
believed then, and history has not since changed 
our opinion, that the election of Blaine would 
have lowered the standard of American politics 
more than in that decade could well have been 
afforded. 

Roosevelt was an active member of the Execu- 
tive Committee of the Civil Service Reform Asso- 
ciation, where he came to be associated with 
citizens like George William Curtis, Carl Schurz, 
Horace White, and others. It was a good group 
of working citizens, and I am interested in recall- 
ing that they were all members of our Century 
Club. Theodore was much interested in the 
purpose and work of the Association, and he 
secured, through this Committee, good training 
and personal relations that were afterwards to 
be of value to him. 

It was through the influence of Curtis, at that 
time President of the Association, that Roosevelt 
was appointed a member of the National Civil 
Service Commission in Washington. He had for 
Chairman, Proctor, of Kentucky, who was a 
good citizen and a good fellow, but did not have 
any full measure of incisive energy, and the 
direction of the affairs of the Commission came 
into Theodore's hands. It was clear in his 
mind that the civil service law must be enforced, 



40 H^brees of 

and those of us who know the history of the time 
can reahze what he was up against in attempting 
to secure the enforcement. The political leaders 
believed that they had lost political capital when 
they no longer had available as gifts positions 
with salaries. The Administration found ground 
for annoyance because it was not in a position to 
placate representatives or senators by putting 
appointments at their disposal. The opposition 
was well organized, while the community at large, 
which had the keenest interest in the matter, was 
not, and could not, be organized. If it had not 
been for the fight made by Roosevelt in that 
commission, it would hardly have been possible 
to establish the precedents for a civil service law 
adequately enforced, and it is from these prece- 
dents that our civil service system has grown 
into a status of civilized decency. 

I may recall one instance in connection with 
Theodore's work as a commissioner. The execu- 
tive committee in New York was in session and 
at about nine in the evening, the door opened 
and Theodore came in from Washington. As he 
closed the door, he asked Curtis, who was pre- 
siding, whether there were any reporters present. 
Curtis's answer v/as: "We have a couple of edi- 
tors, Godkin and Horace White, but we can trust 
them." Theodore went on: "I have made this 
journey from Washington to have the opportunity 
in the first place, of sa3n[ng ' Damn the Postmaster- 
General.' " I won't mention his name, for he is 
still living. This "damn" was not an impreca- 
tion in the ordinary term. It was a solemnity, 
a function, almost a religious observance which 



fIDajor (5eo. Ibaven putnam 41 

to Theodore seemed to be essential, and the ut- 
terance came to a sympathetic circle. Theodore 
went on to explain the cause of his bottled-up 
emotion. 

It was simply that of all the opponents of the 
civil service system, the Postmaster-General was, 
he said, the most pernicious. Roosevelt was, 
from time to time, reporting to him concerning 
the political activities which, contrary to the 
spirit of the letter of the law, were being carried 
on by the employees of the post ofhce depart- 
ment. The action of these men tendered to keep 
politics mixed up with the business of the govern- 
ment and to the carrying on of the business of 
the government under poHtical conditions. Said 
Theodore: "I placed before the Postmaster-Gen- 
eral sworn statements in regard to these political 
activities and the only reply I could secure was, 
'this was all second-hand evidence.'" "Then," 
said Theodore, "I went up to Baltimore at the 
invitation of our good friend, a member of the 
National Committee, Charles J. Bonaparte. Bona- 
parte said that he could bring me into direct 
touch with some of the matters complained about. 
He took me to the primary meetings with some 
associate who knew by name the carriers and the 
Customs officials. I was able myself to see going 
on the work of political assessments, and I heard 
the instructions given to the carriers and others 
in regard to the moneys that they were to collect, 
I got the names of some of these men recorded in 
my memorandum book. I then went back to 
Washington, swore myself in as a witness before 
myself as commissioner and sent the sworn state- 



42 a^brese of 

ment to the Postmaster-General with the word, 
'this at least is first-hand evidence,' I still got no 
reply, and after waiting a few days, I put the 
whole material before the President with a report. 
This report has been pigeon-holed by the Presi- 
dent, and I have now come to New York to see 
what can be done to get the evidence before the 
public. You will understand that the head of a 
department, having made a report to the Presi- 
dent, can do nothing further with the material 
until the President permits." 

Schurz was the expert man in the committee 
on affairs in Washington. It was in Schurz's 
Department of the Interior that Civil Service 
Reform had been first applied months before the 
civil service bill had been placed on the calendar, 
and it was the good work done in his department, 
under Schurz's system that enabled us to bring 
the bill into enactment. Schurz said: "In your 
place, Theodore, I should ask the Civil Service 
Committee of the House to call upon you to give 
evidence in regard to the working of this act. 
You can then place before the Committee with 
your general statement, this 'first-hand evidence' 
that you have secured in Baltimore. This will 
be printed in the report of the Committee and 
our Association will be in a position to circulate 
the report without any direct reference to the 
fact that you have already made a report to the 
President." 

Theodore said: "I shall ask to have the Post- 
master-General called before the Committee at 
the same time as myself." That course was 
taken, but the Postmaster-General sent word to 



ni>ajor (5eo. Ibaven putnam 43 

the Chairman of the Committee that "he would 
hold himself at the service of the Committee for 
any date on which Mr. Roosevelt was not to be 
present." Roosevelt's testimony was, however, 
given, and much to the dissatisfaction of the 
Postmaster-General, and probably of the President, 
our Association circulated some millions of copies. 

In 1897-98, Roosevelt was Assistant Secretary 
of the Navy, and we all know the value of the 
energetic service contributed by him in getting 
the navy into shape for the Spanish-American 
War. There was not enough however, in the 
work of the navy department to satisfy the energy 
of the man, and in 1898 he insisted upon getting 
to the front and organized with General Wood 
the Rough Riders. In coming into my office at 
the close of the Spanish War, he said: 

"Haven, I have had a bully time. I know you 
Civil War men will think of this fight as simply a 
skirmish, but it was worth while." 

It was worth while in more ways than one for 
Theodore, for it resulted in making him Governor, 
and a very good Governor he was. I may men- 
tion one incident of his career in Albany. 

As foreman of the Grand Jury, I had issue with 
a certain District Attorney (I will not mention 
his name as he is still living) . I was investigating 
the City Departments, including the Police, and 
found that this District Attorney, a loyal repre- 
sentative of Tammany Hall, was doing what he 
could to block the investigation. He spirited 
away the witnesses and his influence was used to 
prevent the poHcemen from giving full testimony. 
At the close of my Grand Jury session, I made a 



44 abbrese of 

presentment against various City officials, includ- 
ing the District Attorney, and application was 
made to the Governor to remove the District 
Attorney. Theodore sent for me to come and 
share his breakfast at the early hour of eight. 
He wanted more details. He pumped me for an 
hour and a half with the result that New York 
City was spared the further service of this parti- 
cular District Attorney. 

I had occasion to appeal to Roosevelt in connec- 
tion with another matter that proved to be impor- 
tant. He was completing his term of service in the 
White House, and at his instance Taft had been 
nominated for the next President. Hughes was just 
completing his first term as Governor, and the ques- 
tion of his renomination was under consideration. 
I learned that the Republican managers were go- 
ing to turn down Governor Hughes. They had, 
as they said, no use for him. He did not fit in with 
their plans or make the appointments that they 
were demanding. I thought that such a decision 
was serious for the interests of the State of New 
York and might also work badly in connection 
with the election of Taft. I was myself a Demo- 
crat, but I had made a practice of "voting 
for McKinley whenever the Democrats named 
Bryan." This time, I was going to vote for Taft, 
and I wanted also to vote for Hughes, because I 
thought him to be one of the best, if not the best. 
Governor the State had ever had. I made that 
statement to Theodore who responded: "You 
are quite right. Hughes was a better Governor 
than I." I wrote Theodore that I wanted to see 
him on a matter of public importance, and he 



fIDajor (3eo, Ibaven iputnam 45 

asked me to lunch the next day at Oyster Bay. 
On going down by train, I found myself sitting 
behind W. L. Ward, the Republican political 
leader of Westchester. Ward was one of the 
active men in the State Republican Machine and 
one of those who had decided that they had no 
further use for Hughes. I realized that Theodore 
was proposing to sit as a judge in the matter, 
listening to the conflicting views of Ward and 
myself, and that proved to be the case. He asked 
"what have you come here to talk about?" I 
said, "You have already guessed, as I can see 
from the company. I have come to emphasize 
the fact that Hughes is the best Governor that 
New York has ever had, — ^present company not 
excepted — and in my judgment, he ought to be 
renominated. I am speaking for the interests 
of the State, but also with a national purpose. 
The Republicans throughout the country are 
expecting this renomination and this is true also 
of the people of the state. I do not need to remind 
a citizen like yourself that New York is a very 
independent state and that the majority slams 
backwards and forwards according to the manner 
in which the political leaders treat the conscience 
of their parties. It is my impression, I said, that 
the election of Taft may easily be imperiled if the 
RepubHcans turn down their own man. "How," 
I continued, "can they in the convention point 
with pride to the achievements of the party if 
they refuse to renominate their own Governor. 
Who ever heard of an election being carried in 
which the managers had not 'pointed with pride. ' " 
Ward replied in substance: "You theorists do 



46 Hbbrees of 

not know what you are talking about. I am 
speaking as a practical politician. We cannot 
get enough votes to elect Hughes for the second 
term, and the attempt to elect him may easily 
defeat the national ticket. Hughes has offended 
many people, — all of those, for instance, connected 
with the business of the pool rooms and the race 
courses. He has been regardless of his obligations 
to the party, and he refuses to pay attention to 
the legitimate requests of party leaders." There 
was then a word of rejoinder on either side. 

I pointed out that the practical politicians re- 
ceived only the political news that their henchmen 
brought to them, and that the opinion of the m?n 
in the street, the in-between man, the man whose 
vote decided the election, was much better under- 
stood by independent citizens, so called theoreti- 
cal politicians like myself. Then the President 
summed us up. 

"Mr. Ward," said Theodore, "I am disposed 
to agree with you that the Governor has, from 
time to time, shown himself regardless of his obliga- 
tions to the party and that he has been unwilling 
to give attention to the requests of party leaders; 
but Haven, I hold with you that Hughes has got 
to be renominated. It is the only wise thing to 
do for the interests of the State and of the Repub- 
lican party and for the success of the presidential 
ticket." 

I asked as the audience closed: "Have I per- 
mission to quote your conclusion?" "Yes," he 
said, "only you will bear in mind I am speaking 
not as President, but as a citizen of New York 
who intends to cast his vote for Governor Hughes." 



riDaJor (5co. Ibaven putnam 47 

The reporters were waiting at the station at 
Oyster Bay. An editor who had been present 
at the interview was authorized by Ward and 
myself to talk to the reporters. The next day 
the headlines stated: "President Roosevelt says 
Hughes must be renominated." This settled 
the matter. The Chairman of the Republican 
County Committee had been on the fence, but 
when Roosevelt's word was given, he gave his 
word for Hughes, carried the County Committee, 
and the thing was settled. 

In one sense of the term Roosevelt might prop- 
erly be called self-sufficient. He was certainly 
self-reliant, that is to say ready to make up his 
own mind and to act on his own convictions, but he 
also made a practice before arriving at a conclu- 
sion of securing counsel from the strongest men 
within reach. When he was in executive respon- 
sibility, he held that that was the only way in 
which he could do his duty to the nation. In 
this respect he is to be compared with Washing- 
ton and Lincoln. I am not undertaking to place 
him on a par with these great men. The oppor- 
tunity did not come to Roosevelt either to create 
the Republic or to save the Republic, although 
in arousing, after the sinking of the Lusitania, the 
righteous purpose of the people he did his part to 
save the honor of the nation. In the matter of sur- 
rounding himself when in power with the strongest 
men within reach, irrespective of his own personal 
convenience, Theodore took these two great Presi- 
dents as his examples. It is fair to remember 
that he did not have in his Cabinets the personal 
friction which made so difficult the work both of 



48 at)bre00 of 

Washington and of Lincoln. He was fortunate 
in securing for the pubHc service — though not 
in the Cabinet — our dear friend Choate, and in 
holding on to the service in the Cabinet of John 
Hay, and in securing as successor to John Hay, 
our valued associate Elihu Root, The Century 
has, in late years at least, had a good deal to do 
with the government of the Republic. Roosevelt 
evidently had no dread, in being associated with 
such men, as to the comparison of their abilities 
with his own. Whatever he was able to contribute 
he was ready to contribute. If somebody else 
was in a position, with larger knowledge of the 
facts or with better skill of analysis, to arrive at 
a wiser conclusion, it was the conclusion of the 
other fellow that he was ready to take. He pos- 
sessed the ability, so essential for a well rounded 
man, of laughing at himself, and his laughing 
was always delightful. It was a revelation of a 
man of large courage, of capacity for sympathy, 
of a genuine sweetness of nature. 

During Roosevelt's first term as President, I 
was at the White House once at luncheon when 
the principal guest was an old Confederate General 
born in the region that was once the state of 
Franklin, whose territory was later absorbed into 
Tennessee and Kentucky. The old General was 
brought in by Senator Bate of Tennessee, and 
Roosevelt, who was a considerate host, naturally 
directed the conversation to Tennessee. He 
knew the history of the State, which he had 
studied in preparing his Winning of the West. 
He had made personal inspection of the regions 
he described, and had secured from the farmers 



riDajor (5eo. Ibapen putnam 49 

the local legends as to what had been done 
by their great-grandfathers. He knew, as very 
few men know, the brief history of the state of 
Franklin. Roosevelt recalled stories of the old 
pioneers, and naturally made reference to Presi- 
dent Polk, but he laid the most emphasis upon 
Andrew Jackson, in whose personality he had 
found himself particularly interested. "Here 
was a man," said Theodore, "who realized what 
could be done with the power of the executive. 
He was a real president, a real leader. When 
he had convinced himself that what he had had 
in plan was for the good of the country, he would 
permit no red tape to stand in the way of the 
thing to be done. He simply cut the tape. We 
will admit," said Theodore, "that Jackson had 
his faults. He was inclined to beheve that the 
man who did not agree with Andrew was either 
a fool or a villain." At that moment, Theodore 
caught my eye, and broke out: "Haven, stop 
your chuckling, I know what you are thinking." 
All the guests broke into laughter; for they all 
had the same thought, and Roosevelt's laughter 
was as ready as anybody's. 

Reference has been made to the important work 
done by Roosevelt after th e sinking of the Lusitania 
in arousing the righteous purpose of the nation 
as to the duty of America to take part in the war, 
and as to the peril that would come upon the 
Republic if this duty were neglected. At this 
time, I had not seen my friend for a couple of 
years. He knew that I had not been in accord 
with certain of his political actions, and we had, 
therefore, failed to come together. In this matter 



50 at)t)re06 of 

of bringing the nation into the war, we were, 
however, making similar utterances from the 
platform. Roosevelt sent for me to meet him 
at the Harvard Club, and as I entered the room, 
he came forward with both arms outstretched 
saying: "Haven, we are again thinking alike, 
and I am de-lighted." My response was natu- 
rally hearty and sympathetic. It was a real 
pleasure for me again to be fighting in a good 
cause by the side of my friend. 

The last public document to which Roosevelt 
gave his name was written from his sick bed in 
the hospital. I had been to see him from time 
to time, but on this occasion he had sent for me, 
and I had the pleasure of making the visit in 
company with Dr. Manning. Roosevelt said 
there was something he wanted me to do for 
him. "While I was in the White House, I made a 
statement which I now want to correct. I have 
changed my mind in regard to a matter of some 
importance." 

He was referring to an utterance made while 
he was President in regard to the relations of the 
United States with England. He had taken the 
ground that we should, of course, always main- 
tain a friendly association with Great Britain, 
and that such association was important on more 
grounds than one. He said further, however, 
that even in our relations with England there 
were some things in regard to which we should 
make reservation. Issues might arise in which 
the national honor would be involved. "I was 
not ready," he continued, "at that time to agree 
that we should be ready to submit every possible 



fIDajor (5eo, Ibaven putnam 51 

issue to arbitration. I want, however, to say to- 
day that no issue can arise between the United 
States and Great Britain which ought not to be 
settled, and which cannot be settled in friendly 
conference, or if the conference may not be 
successful, be settled by arbitration. Between 
England and ourselves there must be no non- 
justiciable question. This is essential for the 
interests of the English-speaking peoples of the 
world, and I believe it is important, if not essen- 
tial, for the safety and peace of the world itself. 
I want to tell the public that I have changed my 
mind on this matter." "There need be no diffi- 
culty," I said. "When I get back to the office, 
I will put certain questions to you in a letter, 
and I will see to it that your answer to my letter 
reaches the public on both sides of the Atlantic." 
My letter went to Roosevelt the next day, and 
his answer came to me a day later. It was pub- 
lished widely through the United States and Great 
Britain. The letter would in any case have 
secured in England sympathetic attention, but 
as it reached the papers by mail just at the time 
the news of Roosevelt's death came by cable, 
it carried special emphasis. It was his last word 
to the English as well as to the American people. 
I make a brief citation from this letter: 

"This war has brought home to the great 
majority of the thinking men of this country 
the fact that the English-speaking peoples 
possess, in common, both ideals and interests. 
We can best do our duty as member of the 
Family of Nations, to maintain peace and 
justice throughout the world, by first ren- 



52 H^bre60 of 

dering it impossible that the peace between 
ourselves can ever be broken. . . . There 
is no reason why there should not be on the 
two sides of the Atlantic the same relation 
for peace that has for a century obtained on 
the two sides of the Great Lakes. . . . We 
should say that under no circumstances shall 
there ever be a resort to war between the 
United States and the British Empire, and 
that no question can ever arise between them 
that cannot be settled in judicial fashion, in 
some such manner as questions between 
States of our own Union would be settled." 
"It is wicked," said Theodore, "not to 
try to live up to high ideals and to better 
the conditions of the world." ... "It is 
folly, and maybe worse than folly, not to 
recognize the actual facts of existence while 
striving thus to realize our ideals." 

In a letter to The American Defense Society, 
written two days before his death, he writes: 

"There must be no sagging backward in 
the fight for Americanism merely because 
the war is over. . . . There can be here no 
divided allegiance. We have room for but 
one flag, the American flag. . . . For but 
one language, the English language. . . For 
but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to 
the American people. ..." 

It was for me a great satisfaction to find myself 
again so thoroughly in accord with my friend, and 
I am glad to remember that the last spoken word 
by him to America and the world should have been 
given through me. 

Theodore Roosevelt was a man devoted to the 
service of the Republic and of humanity. He 



riDajor (Beo. Ibaven putnam 55 

believed that life was worth while; that the years 
and days were given to a man in trust, and that 
it was a crime to waste even an hour. He was 
an optimist, and he got much out of life because 
he put much into life. 

Roosevelt's life is closed, but his influence will 
endure. The world is the poorer for his death, 
but it has been made richer through his life, his 
character, and his service. 



LETTER FROM 

SENATOR HENRY CABOT LODGE 

January 30, 1919. 

My dear Mr. Putnam: 

It is a regret to me that I cannot be with you 
at the meeting of The Century Club in honor of 
Theodore Roosevelt, but you of course understand 
that as I am to deliver the memorial address 
before the Houses of Congress on the afternoon 
of that day in Washington it is an impossibility. 
He was a great patriot, a great American, and 
a great man. His loss to the country — I might 
say to the world — at this moment of doubt and 
trial, filled with perplexing and perilous questions, 
is inexpressible. 

With sincere regards, believe me 

Very truly yours, 
H. C. Lodge. 
G. H. Putnam, Esq. 



54 



LETTER FROM 

JOHN BURROUGHS 

Dear Major Putnam: 

Never before in my life has it been so hard for 
me to accept the death of any man as it has been 
for me to accept the death of Theodore Roosevelt. 
I think I must have unconsciously felt that his 
power to live was unconquerable. Such un- 
bounded energy and vitality impressed one like 
the perennial forces of nature. I cannot associ- 
ate with him the thought of death. He always 
seemed to have an unlimited reserve of health 
and power. Apparently he cared no more for 
the bullet which a few years ago that would-be 
assassin shot into his breast, than for a fleabite. 

From his ranch days in Montana to the past year 
or two, I saw and was with him many times in 
many places. In the Yellowstone Park in the 
spring of 1903, in his retreat in the woods of Vir- 
ginia, during the last term of his presidency, at 
Oyster Bay at various times, in Washington at 
the White House, and at my home on the Hudson, 
I have felt the arousing and stimulating impact 
of his wonderful personality. When he came into 
the room it was as if a strong wind had blown 

55 



56 Xetter from 

the door open. You felt his radiant energy be- 
fore he got half way up the stairs. 

When we went birding together it was ostensibly 
as teacher and pupil, but it often turned out that 
the teacher got as many lessons as he gave. 

Early in May, 1908, he asked me to go with 
him to his retreat in the woods of Virginia, called 
"Pine Knot," and help him name his birds. 
Together we identified more than seventy-five 
species of birds and wild fowl. He knew them 
all but two, and I knew them all but two. He 
taught me Bewick's wren and one of the rarer 
warblers, and I taught him the swamp sparrow, 
and the pine warbler. A few days before he had 
seen Lincoln's sparrow in an old weedy field. On 
Sunday after church he took me there and we 
loitered around for an hour, but the sparrow did 
not appear. Had he found this bird again, he 
would have been one ahead of me. The one 
subject I do know, and ought to know, is the 
birds. It has been one of the main studies of a 
long life. He knew the subject as well as I did, 
while he knew with the same thoroughness scores 
of other subjects of which I am entirely ignorant. 

He was a naturalist on the broadest grounds, 
uniting much technical knowledge with knowledge 
of the daily lives and habits of all forms of wild 
life. He probably knew tenfold more natural 
history than all the presidents who had preceded 
him, and, I think one is safe in saying, more human 
history also. 

In the Yellowstone Park when I was with him, 
he carried no gun, but one day as we were riding 
along we saw a live mouse on the ground beside 



3obn Burrougbe 57 

the road. He instantly jumped out of the sleigh 
and caught the mouse in his hands; and that 
afternoon he skinned it and prepared it in the 
approved taxidermist's way, and sent it to the 
United States National Museum in Washington. 
It proved to be a species new to the Park. 

In looking over the many letters I have had 
from him, first and last, I find that the greater 
number of them are taken up with the discussion 
of natural history problems, such as Darwin's 
theory of natural selection, "sports," protective 
coloration. He would not allow himself, nor would 
he permit others, to dogmatize about Nature. 
He knew how infinitely various are her moods 
and ways, and not infrequently did he take me 
to task for being too sweeping in my statements. 

When, in the early part of the last decade, while 
he was President, there was a serious outbreak 
of nature-faking in books and in various weekly 
and monthly periodicals, Roosevelt joined me 
and others in a crusade against the fakers and 
wielded the "big stick" with deadly effect. He 
detected a sham naturalist as quickly as he did a 
trading politician. 

Roosevelt was much amused by the change 
that had come over the spirit of that terrible 
beast, the grizzly bear in Yellowstone Park. In 
a letter to me he comments as follows: 

White House, Washington, 
August 12, 1904. 

"Dear Oom John, 

"I think that nothing is more amusing 
and interesting than the development of the 
changes made in wild beast character by 



58 Xetter from 

the wholly unprecedented course of things 
in Yellowstone Park. I have just had a 
letter from Buffalo Jones, describing his ex- 
periences in trying to get tin cans off the 
feet of the bears in the Yellowstone Park. 
There are lots of tin cans in the garbage 
heaps which the bears muss over, and it has 
now become fairly common for a bear to get 
his paw so caught in a tin can that he cannot 
get it off, and of course great pain and injury 
follow. Buffalo Jones was sent with another 
scout to capture, tie up and cure these bears. 
He roped two and got the can off of one, but 
the other tore himself loose, can and all, and 
escaped. 

"Think of the grizzly bear of the early 
Rocky Mountain hunters and explorers, and 
then think of the fact that part of the rec- 
ognized duties of the scouts in the Yellow- 
stone Park at this moment is to catch this 
same grizzly bear and, in the bear's interest, 
remove tin cans from the bear's paws! 

"The grounds of the White House are 
lovely now, and the most decorative birds 
in them are some red-headed woodpeckers. 

' ' Give my regards to Mrs. Burroughs. How 
I wish I could see you at Slab sides! But of 
course this summer there is no chance of that. 
"Always yours, 

"Theodore Roosevelt." 

Roosevelt was a many-sided man and every 
side was like an electric battery. Such versatility, 
such vitality, such thoroughness, such copiousness, 
have rarely been united in one man. He was not 
only a full man, he was also a ready man, and an 
exact man. He could bring all his vast resources 
of power and knowledge to bear upon a given 
subject instantly. 



3obn BurrouGbe 59 

Courageous, confident, self-assertive, be was 
yet singularly tender and sympathetic. He was 
an autocratic democrat. "Hail fellow well met" 
with teamsters, mechanics, and cowboys, he could 
meet kings and emperors on their own ground. 
A lover of big-game hunting, he was a naturalist 
before he was a sportsman. 

His Americanism was in the marrow of his 
bones. I could never get him interested in that 
other great American — one more strictly of the 
people than he was — Walt Whitman. Whitman's 
democracy was too rank and unrelieved to attract 
him. The Rooseveltian strenuousness and auster- 
ity and high social ideals stood in the way. 

Roosevelt combined and harmonized opposite 
qualities. Never have I known such good fellow- 
ship united to such austerity, such moral courage 
united to such physical courage, such prodigious 
powers of memory united with such powers of 
original thought. He could face a charging lion, 
or a grizzly bear, as coolly as he could an angry 
politician. 

There was always something imminent about 
him, like an avalanche that the sound of your 
voice might loosen. The word demanded by the 
occasion was instantly on his hps, whether it were 
to give pleasure or pain. In his presence one felt 
that the day of judgment might come at any 
moment. No easy tolerance with him, but you 
could always count on the just word, the square 
deal, and tolerance of your opinion if it were well 
founded. 

The charge that he was an impulsive man has 
no foundation; it is a wrong interpretation of his 



6o Xetter from 3obn Burrouobe 

power of quick decision. His singleness of pur- 
pose and the vitality and alertness of each of his 
many sides enabled him to decide quickly where 
others hesitate and stumble. The emphasis and 
the sharpness of his yea and nay were those of a 
man who always knew his own mind and knew it 
instantly. What seemed rashness in him was 
only the action of a mind of extraordinary quick- 
ness and precision. His uncompromising charac- 
ter made him many enemies, but without it he 
would not have been the Roosevelt who stamped 
himself so deeply upon the hearts and the history 
of his countrymen. 

When I think of his death amid these great 
days when such tremendous world events are 
fast becoming history, and recall what a part he 
could have played in them, and would gladly 
have played, had his health permitted, I realize 
with new poignancy what a loss the world has 
suffered in his passing. A pall seems to settle 
upon the very sky. The world is bleaker and 
colder for his absence from it. We shall not 
look upon his like again. 

Farewell! great soul! Farewell! 

John Burroughs. 

Major Geo. Haven Putnam. 



ADDRESS OF 

CARL E. AKELEY 

Fellow Centurians: — I shall be very brief, 
and recount just a few reminiscences of my experi- 
ence with Theodore Roosevelt. As I have listened 
to these talks to-night, first of all I am reminded 
of an incident of less than a year ago, when we 
were gathered together here to pay homage to 
another Centurian, Mr. Choate. Many of you 
remember the delightfully humorous talk that 
Theodore Roosevelt gave us that night. After 
the talk he led me back into the barroom to get 
a glass of water, saying : "I want to talk to you 
about the boys." His sons were all on the other 
side at that time. He had a letter from one of 
them in his pocket. He read this to me; and his 
last remark as we came out was: "Akeley, I never 
expect to see one of my boys again. The thought 
that is with me constantly day and night is how 
can I tell their mother." I had never seen him 
so depressed. He knew his boys; he knew that 
they were not sending their men into the fight; 
they were leading them. It is good that he lived 
to know that three were safe and coming back. 

In 1907, we returned from one of our African 
61 



62 a^^re00 of 

expeditions, and on reaching New York we found 
a request from the President that we come to 
Washington. At luncheon at the White House a 
few days later, as we went into the dining-room, 
the President said to a gentleman who had just 
come down from Alaska: "When I finish with 
this job I am going to Alaska for a good long time." 
There had been much talk of this Alaskan trip. 
As we came out of the dining-room, he said to 
Mrs. Akeley: "When I have finished with this job 
I am going to Africa." The man from Alaska 
said: "How about Alaska?" Roosevelt replied: 
"Alaska can wait." That, I believe, was the 
beginning of the African expedition. During 
the luncheon when I had told of a band of sixteen 
lions that had been seen coming from the mouth 

of a cave, the President turned to Congressman 

who was present, and said: "Congressman, I 
wish I had those sixteen lions to turn in on 
Congress." The Congressman was just a little 
flabbergasted, but replied: "Mr. President, aren't 
you afraid they might make a mistake?" The 
President's response was prompt and emphatic: 
"Not if they stayed long enough." 

On another occasion at the White House, Dr. 
Merriam took advantage of an opportunity brought 
about by the conversation to explain an incident 
in connection with some of our Natural History 
work, which had to do with a man whom I had 
taken on a former African expedition. He was 
a field naturalist, who had been promised the 
privilege of working up the collections when we 
returned; but there was a change in the regime 
of the institution during our absence, and when 



Carl JB, HF^elei? 63 

we came back he was not allowed to have anything 
to do with the material he had collected. The 
President did not consider this a square deal 
and he assured me that the naturalist under dis- 
cussion, who had been booked for the African 
expedition, would not have a similar experience 
in connection with his expedition. That he kept 
his word is evidenced by the two published volumes, 
Life Histories of African Game Animals, by Theo- 
dore Roosevelt and Edmund Heller. Theodore 
Roosevelt's appreciation of the work of field 
naturalists has done much to make their work 
understood and effective. 

I was not associated with him in his African 
expedition, except in the way of helping to make 
arrangements for the work, and in his party were 
several men with whom we had be^n associated 
in our African work. I had planned an expedi- 
tion in Africa for the same time and arrangements 
were made for a meeting in the Jungle. But it 
happened that I was late in getting over and he 
had been in the country six months when I arrived, 
so there was no certainty of our meeting at all. 
One day we were travehng across the Uasin 
Gishu Plateau, but didn't know where the Roose- 
velt party was. We saw a caravan in the dis- 
tance, and I sent a runner to find out who it was, 
while we proceeded to the point on the 'Nzoia 
River where we intended to camp that night. 
By the time we reached the river my runner came 
back saying he had met a runner from the other 
safari and that it was the Roosevelt party. So we 
made camp, and after lunch I got on a horse and 
started in the direction the caravan was going, 



64 abbre00 of 

the runner having said they were to camp at a 
certain swamp, some three or four miles away. 
When I had gone half the distance I met the 
Colonel with Kermit, Heller and Tarlton on their 
way to our camp. After luncheon at our camp 
that day I presented the Colonel with a bottle of 
brandy that had been intrusted to my care by 
one of his very best friends whom we met on the 
boat while crossing the Atlantic. There was no 
doubt of the Colonel's appreciation of the remem- 
brance of his old friend. But when he handed the 
bottle to a black boy I feared that the brandy, as 
such, was not appreciated until he gave instruc- 
tions to give the bottle to Cuninghame. Then 
I was certain that it would ultimately receive an 
affectionaie reception. 

On the way over to our camp that day they 
had run across the fresh trail of a herd of elephants. 
One of the objects of our getting together in Africa 
was in order thai: the Colonel might shoot at least 
one of the specimens for the group of elephants 
that I was collecting for th3 American Museum 
of Natural History. We went back to the Colonel's 
camp that night, and early next morning the 
Colonel, Kermit, Tarlton and myself in a short 
time picked up the trail of yesterday and proceeded 
to follow it. We came up with them in a couple 
of hours. There were eight of them — cows and 
calves grouped under a tree. We circled around 
to the leeward, and were comfortably placed 
behind a great ant hill about sixty yards from 
them. The elephants were headed our way, and 
I indicated one which I thought would be suit- 
able to be used in the group. Of course I expected 



Carl le. mcle^ 65 

the Colonel to take a shot from where we were. 
But the Colonel preferred a shorter range, and 
started towards the elephants with Kermit and I 
following closely. We were in full view of them, 
and I had a desire to whisper in his ^^ar that I 
didn't want her taken alive. He kept on going 
straight forward until the elephants began to get 
a little uneasy, and started coming in our direc- 
tion. The Colonel fired, hitting the old cow, but 
they continued in our direction. Our work was 
cut out for us, and when we got through there 
were four dead elephants instead of one. They 
were close before we succeeded in turning them. 
Tarlton and Kermit returned to camp with the 
boys, leaving the Colonel and myself. We made 
ourselves comfortable in the shade of a mimosa 
tree and for two or three hours there was no one 
to disturb us; and the memory of these few hours 
alone with Roosevelt in the African bush is one of 
my greatest treasures. It was then that I learned 
to know and love the author of The Great Adventure. 
When Tarlton and Clark came with the boys 
and camp outfit, the work of skinning the elephants 
proceeded and kept us very busy until late at 
night. Lions and hyenas were about the camp 
all night, and at daybreak the Colonel and I set 
out in our pyjamas on the chance of getting a 
shot at a lion — but without success. During the 
evening a grass fire had swept down upon us and 
it was only by desperate work that we saved our 
camp; but it burned the grass all about, and our 
pyjamas were an interesting sight after a half 
hour of tramping over the fresh burned grass. 
On our return to camp as we passed the carcass- 



66 a^^rc00 of Carl le. a^ele^ 

of the old cow, we saw a hyena raise its head, and 
the Colonel fired. And then we discovered that 
he needn't have shot it. It had eaten its way 
into the carcass, and from the inside had forced 
its head through a small hole in the abdominal 
wall which closed above the neck with the strength 
of a two-inch sheet of rubber. The hyena's only 
hope of immediate release would have been the 
chance of his friends eating the trap away. Since 
a hyena was the victim, it appeared more as a 
joke than a tragedy. 

In British East Africa as elsewhere Colonel 
Roosevelt made countless friends. It happened 
that on our journey out we had traveled from 
Naples to Mombassa on the boat with Sir Percy 
Girouard and his staff. Sir Percy was going out 
to take over the Governorship of British East 
Africa. At this time the papers were full of the 
Colonel's doings and sayings in British East 
Africa, and perhaps it was quite natural that at 
times Sir Percy should feel a bit concerned about 
some of the reports of the Colonel's opinions in 
regard to the future and management of the colony 
and to indicate that he would tell the Colonel a 
thing or two when they met. The new Governor 
was a strong man with a record of great achieve- 
ments, and we were naturally curious to know what 
would happen when they finally met. Later the 
Governor expressed his admiration of the Colonel 
in terms that left no doubt of his admiration. 

The following words of a Provincial Commis- 
sioner are typical of the sentiment of appreciation 
in British East Africa: "I will give up my billet 
any day to follow Roosevelt!" 



ADDRESS OF 

TALCOTT WILLIAMS 

AT MEMORIAL MEETING OF CENTURY ASSOCIATION 
AFTER DEATH OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT 

My utterance must be brief. I had no early 
acquaintance with Theodore Roosevelt, but yes- 
terday our fellow-member, to-day beaconing wher3 
the immortals are. No hunting stories of big 
game have I to tell. I prefer to remember at this 
hour other big game, outside of Africa, devastating 
our land and our public life, I saw him slay. I 
cannot — who of us could? — match the periods, 
stately and sincere, accurate and inspiring, in 
which the leader of us all. Secretary Root, has 
commemorated our loss in this our Valhalla 
which has heard but too often our threnody over 
the going of the great of our land and time, whose 
names our year-book will always carry to tell 
those who in the future sit where we sit what 
manner of companioning was present in the Cen- 
tury Association from Bryant to Roosevelt. 

"When each by turns was guide to each, 
And Fancy light from Fancy caught, 
And Thought leapt out to wed with Thought 
Ere Thought could wed itself with speech. ' ' 

67 



68 abbre00 of 

I shall deal only with his public life in the period 
with which I was familiar, from his election to the 
Assembly to his choice as the Republican candi- 
date for Governor in this State in 1898. I first 
heard of him from a friend of Beirut, a missionary's 
son like myself, who told me years ago (we had 
both known that ugly but entrancing brute, a 
half -broken Syrian donkey) of the fashion in which 
Theodore Roosevelt, then ten or eleven years old, 
on a visit to the East with his father, had suc- 
cessfully ridden a donkey, hitherto inexpugnable. 
Later, I never watched his success, in dealing with 
those other pale gray asses or dark and dun, asses 
all, not dissimilar, whether long-haired reformers, 
or short-haired politicians, without noting that his 
boyish prowess had about it a touch of the pro- 
phetic. 

His public life I first saw when he was serving 
as Assemblyman. I had known Albany in evil 
and heart-sickening days when the corruption of 
the worst period in our history, in the '70's, swept 
in a black tide through the Legislature, a cesspool 
of manifold iniquity. On its foul edge, stood all 
the forces of evil in our society, like the demons in 
Dante's Fifth Chasm, fishing out one venal legis- 
lator after another, as Graffiacane "hooked out 
Ciampola's pitchy locks and haled him up to open 
gaze so that he seemed an otter," sleek, shining, 
and shameless. So I had seen legislators fished 
for, caught and exposed, in my work as an Albany 
correspondent. Theodore Roosevelt I had met 
once in a college fraternity. Later, on a chance 
visit to Albany I went to see him. As he came out 
of the door of the Assembly to meet me and I saw 



^alcott 13miUiam0 69 

him, strong, manly, vigorous, unstained and un- 
touched by all about him, I had a sudden throb 
of hope and pride in this young college man, 
already in one brief session the leader of every 
good yearning and high desire in the State, the 
ideal of us all, who, like myself, joined under the 
leadership of George William Curtis, and in one 
State and another, led forlorn and defeated at- 
tempts towards reform and improvement. Here 
at last was a man without compromise, of courage 
and determination, with the extraordinary gift of 
high ideals and able to put them into being. 

An admirer of Wellington, he once quoted the 
great soldier's reply when asked how he could take 
office under Peel: "The King's Government must 
go on. ' ' So Colonel Roosevelt felt that the people's 
government must go on, and hesitated at no ally. 
Beginning almost at Hamilton's age, he accom- 
plished wonders in leading young men to serve the 
State and he stood all his life a persuading call to 
youth. 

Theodore Roosevelt had carried the Twenty- 
first District. It is easy now to see a walkover; 
but what all this meant, what it meant to down 
"Jake," and to "do up" the "Biglin boys," and 
to face the gang with which Richard Croker swept 
through the streets of the district on election day, 
can only be fully comprehended by a reporter 
like myself, who saw a Republican worker lying 
prone in a drugstore into which he had been carried, 
just shot by one of Croker's men. Here was a man 
on the threshold of the twenties who fought with 
the beasts in this modern Ephesus and won. Alert, 
able, brimming with hope and resolution, I re- 



70 a&bre00 of 

member as he thrust his hand over mine and 
gripped it, thinking of the Hnes, f amiHar to us all : 

"My good blade carves the casques of men, 
My tough lance thrusteth sure, 
My strength is as the strength of ten. 
Because my heart is pure." 

Through life he carried this pure purpose about 
him like an aura. He was twenty-four when he 
entered the Legislature. He served three years, 
during '8i, '82, '83. Against every corrupt in- 
fluence, after a week's hot fight, he swept through 
the vote, 146 to 9, which took up the charges 
against Judge Westbrook. He cleaned out the 
corrupting influence of two fee offices in this city. 
Register and County Clerk, by converting them 
into salaried posts. He reorganized the Depart- 
ment of Public Works, a stronghold of dubious 
contracts, still almost unchanged in its powers 
since the charter of 1870. He ended the evil 
influence of the Board of Aldermen, by taking 
away its confirming power. His one defeat was 
on Grover Cleveland's veto of the second Civil 
Service Reform bill. After a hot controversy 
between these two men — both honest and true 
but seeing this subject differently, their final 
interview, each unconvinced as Daniel Lament 
told me, was equally creditable to both. 

The task of securing these fruits in that day, a 
third of a century ago, from the New York Legis- 
lature of the early eighties, I despair making plain 
to those who did not experience the conditions of 
that period. His advocacy of Civil Service led him 



ZTalcott MllHame 71 

to be appointed by President Harrison as Civil Ser- 
vice Commissioner. It is a notable record of the 
differences which may exist between men, each 
useful to the Republic, that President Harrison 
never asked Theodore Roosevelt and his wife to 
the White House during the service to which he 
had appointed him, and in which he had become 
one of the most unpopular officials in years, dis- 
liked by a number of Congressmen for whose 
constituents he had refused to make any con- 
cession whatever under the powers that he had. 
He won Congress at last by providing for examina- 
tions over the country. He won the country by 
raising the number of offices subject to Civil Ser- 
vice examinations from fourteen thousand to forty 
thousand, almost single-handed. President Cleve- 
land succeeded President Harrison, and short as 
was the period before Roosevelt left to become 
Police Commissioner in New York, he crossed the 
threshold of the White House as a guest among the 
first of the hospitalities the new President ex- 
tended to the large public and political family a 
President entertains. 

There were three stages in the progress of the 
Civil Service Reform in this country. For a decade, 
from Grant to Arthur, it was urged as a theory — 
a possibility, a reform approved in every platform 
and rejected in every Legislature. From Arthur's 
term to Cleveland's last service as President, the 
reform continued a barren ideal. Chiefly through 
Theodore Roosevelt, it became in the next ten 
years a vigorous, purifying practice until in our 
day it is accepted by all as having immeasurably 
improved the pubHc service. But for him, I 



72 a^^re00 ot 

weigh my words, this reform could never have 
been carried. 

A decade later, after his fight at Albany for this 
reform, he attended the meeting of the National 
Civil Service Reform Association at Philadelphia. 
With other members, he visited my home. Said 
a dear and dusky friend (whose cooking for thirty- 
four years, a cuisine to which only her race is 
equal, has made her precious to me and all who sit 
at my board) on the morning when his going over- 
shadowed the world : "I remember Mr. Roosevelt. 
I let him in myself. He went from room to room. 
He found just the right place. He sat down. 
People came in a ring. He talked to everybody, 
at once." Then, meditatively, she added, with 
a pang of personal loss : * ' Mr. Theodore Roosevelt 
was a great man — a very great man; but he was 
kind o' heedless like." So for all, from King and 
President to maid, our friend was known, mourned, 
revered, with memory and grief ineffaceable. 

To Civil Service Reform, and to all reform, he 
brought an uncompromising loyalty. Wayne 
MacVeagh told me that he met President McKin- 
ley, called to fill a vacancy in the Federal Civil 
Service Commission. "You are a reformer," said 
this shrewd leader of men to MacVeagh, "name 
a man for this post who will advance this re- 
form, without making any trouble?" Four years 
passed and President Roosevelt had a like nomi- 
nation to make to the Senate, "MacVeagh," 
said he, "can you name the very best man in all 
the land to fight this reform through to a finish?" 

Of his work as Police Commissioner, in this 
city for two years, '95-'97, I need scarcely speak. 



^alcott MilUame 73 

It is known to us all. New York's first Dry- 
Sundays ; the unprecedented vigilance of the police 
by night, created by a row of teeth and a pair of 
glasses, the nightmare of every sleeping and negli- 
gent patrolman; the ejection of Byrnes, held 
invulnerable; the exposure of a Police Commis- 
sioner; the summary destruction — under the dor- 
mant power of the Police Department now first 
used — of tenements known to the Health Board as 
"Baby Killers"; the fight with the Ice Trust; the 
reform in vagrancy, and of the incredible and in- 
describable evils of the noisome rooms in the police 
stations crowded with tramps every night — 
here again I cannot help feeling that only a man 
who has been a police reporter, for months to- 
gether, can begin to appreciate the strength of the 
evils against which he fought, or his amazing 
triumph. 

Upon his career at Washington and his share in 
the Spanish War, I do not touch. Let me only by 
way of historical accuracy record that the first 
time he was publicly quoted as saying, "I feel like 
a bull moose, " a phrase later to become historical, 
was September 17, 1898, when his nomination to 
the Governorship had become secure. He had 
just seen Senator Piatt when he used it; but later 
when I saw the Senator, whom I had known 
through the long span of his political career, the 
latter did not seem to look the phrase. 

But of one incident in his strife with all the evils 
of a great city as Police Commissioner, I may speak 
in closing. Familiar for years with the force, back 
to the days of Geo. W, Matsell, I knew something 
of the way in which one man and another, anxious 



74 a^^re00 of zralcott IKailllame 

to reform the System, had been tempted, trapped, 
and left helpless, snared in silken meshes. So 
men of national fame had fallen. The same 
methods, evil and foul, were again put into play 
for Colonel Roosevelt's undoing, vainly and 
fruitlessly. But when "this upright heart and 
pure" came to speak of this snare spread for feet 
which had never walked in any path of evil what- 
soever, his honest eyes suddenly filled with tears, 
and he burst out: Can you not hear him? "What 
can I have done? What can I have done? that 
any man should imagine that I could succumb 
to this hell-born lure? " So I leave him as I began : 

"His strength was as the strength of ten. 
Because his heart was pure. " 




, J 



